When Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the recent 2024 season, Venkatesh Iyer was one of the vital members of the side, as he showed his caliber with the bat, coming into the middle order.
The left-handed batter smashed 370 runs in 13 innings, at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of nearly 160, besides celebrating four half-centuries with a best score of 70. One of the most impressive aspects of his batting was the freedom that he displayed for the entire tournament.
At any stage coming with the bat in hand, Venkatesh Iyer hardly stayed back but rather played some different shorts around the ground to put the pressure back on the fielding team.
Venkatesh Iyer picks this Indian player to partner him in the batting.
The left-handed all-rounder of Kolkata Knight Riders, Venkatesh Iyer has picked the veteran middle order batter of the Indian team- Ajinkya Rahane to partner him in the batting department.
The Mumbai-born was part of the Knight Riders family during the 2022 season, when he struggled with 133 runs in seven innings, at an average of only 19 and a strike rate of just over 103.91, with a best score of only 44.
🚨Venkatesh Iyer chooses former Knight Ajinkiya Rahane over Shubman Gill as his batting partner.
🤔Are you Surprised or was this expected? 👀 pic.twitter.com/wvXpyL3mVo
— KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe) July 30, 2024
On the other hand, Shubman Gill was part of the Knight Riders from the start of his IPL career. In 58 matches for the purple team, the current vice-captain of the limited-overs format for the Indian team nailed a total of 1417 runs, at an average of nearly 32 and a strike rate of around 130, besides celebrating 10-half-centuries at a best score of 76 runs.
However, once he joined Gujarat Titans in 2022, he showed a different side of his batting, managing close to 500 runs in 16 innings, at an average of 34.50 with a strike rate of over 130, with four half-centuries. In the following year, he was the highest run-getter of the season with 890 runs in 17 innings, at a strike rate of 157.80 with an average of 60, with the help of four half-centuries and three centuries at a best score of 129.
On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane too had a great turnaround in his IPL career, once he got the chance to be part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2023. The veteran batter smashed 326 runs in 14 innings, at an average of 32.60 and a strike rate of over 170, shouldering on a couple of fifties with a best score of unbeaten 71 runs.
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Venkatesh Iyer, perhaps, made the selection based on the experience that the former Indian Test captain carries, and how it would be helpful for him to be batting with the star who has been part of the Blue Brigade for such a long time.
The upcoming mega auction for IPL 2025 is expected to take place towards the end of the ongoing year or at the initial stage of the next year. If CSK doesn’t retain Rahane, then he could make a comeback in the Knight Riders side in the auction. In that case, Venkatesh Iyer can again make the 36-year-old his batting partner.